ORGANISERS of an arts festival fed up of sharing the summer spotlight with their culinary counterparts are set to go it alone next year.

The long-running Droitwich Summer Festival has for three years combined the Droitwich Arts Network Festival and the Droitwich Spa Food and Drink Festival for a fortnight-long extravaganza.

But at this year's June festivities, organisers behind the arts festival felt left in the "shadow" of the gastronomic events and will look to run a separate Arts Week next year.

Peter Hawkins, chair of the Droitwich Arts Network (DAN), said: "For the last few years we have been a part of the Summer Festival the town has run.

"But we found the new-comer that joined us - the food and drink component - has really mushroomed to such a degree that we need to keep the arts activities separate.

"The reality was that a couple of the art activities didn't do as well as they should because of the shadow of the food and drink festival.

"Rather than have one concentrated period with everything going on, separate it out."

During DAN's Arts Week there will be art exhibitions, sculpture trails, photographic displays, painting activities for children, performances from the Norbury Theatre's drama groups, singing, poetry readings and much more.

And Mr Hawkins believes separating the two events out could be a positive thing for Droitwich.

"I think it actually works for the town better and it should work for those who are into arts," said Mr Hawkins, who joined DAN in 2010.

He continued: "We can do something quite distinct which will be an attraction at that time, and there will be another attraction to do with food and drink.

"One thing is that it puts Droitwich one the map for visitors. It encourages people into the town. The town centre is not doing particularly well at the moment, so the more we can do to encourage people to come the better."

In 2014 the Droitwich Spa Food and Drink Festival was nominated for Visit Worcestershire Award for Excellence.

Each year it invites around a hundred local producers to come along and show off their goods, and this year offered visitors a chance to enjoy a Food and Drink Trail, Street Market, Junior Bake Off and Beer and Cider Festival.

And Mr Hawkins says the DAN is already looking at some fresh and exciting new ideas for next year's festivities, which could take place at the start of June.

For more information about DAN visit droitwichartsnetwork.org and to find out more about the town's festivals visit droitwichspafestival.co.uk